Great Han Empire

Chapter 759: A Storm of Troubled Heroes

In mid-August, Liang Guosui (sui) Yang.

The drought in the Central Plains became more and more serious, and more and more counties were affected.It has not rained for eight consecutive months, which is very rare in the history of this dynasty.Officials and common people in the disaster-stricken counties knelt on the parched earth and begged God for forgiveness and blessings. The helpless and miserable cries were deafening, but God mercilessly abandoned them and still hung the burning sun in the blue sky every day. , It seems to burn all the land to ashes and dry up all the rivers.

The victims of disasters are gradually increasing, the activities of the Yellow Turban Army are becoming more and more frequent, and the grain, grass and supplies transported to the battlefield in Hebei are constantly being attacked.

At the beginning of this month, when Cao Cao commanded the army to advance to the middle of Jizhou, Yuan Shu, the general of hussars, volunteered and led the army to Liang Guo to kill the remnants of the Yellow Turbans and ensure the smooth flow of food roads.Wherever the army went, the Yellow Turban Army was terrified and achieved remarkable results.

As the Northern Expeditionary Army gradually penetrated into the central part of Jizhou, the demand for food, grass and supplies increased, the transportation distance became longer and longer, and more and more civilian laborers were needed, and the danger on the road naturally became greater and greater.In order to ensure the needs of the battlefield ahead, Xun Yu led his army to Dingtao in Jiyin County, where the Northern Expedition Army's grain and grass stockpile was, and personally supervised the transportation of grain and grass.

On the second day after Xun Yu left Changyi, Yuan Shu, who was more than 200 miles away, received the news.At that time, he was escaping the summer heat in the city of Suiyang in the state of Liang.The reason why Yuan Shu left Changyi was to make Xun You feel less threatened, and then went to Dingtao to supervise the transportation of grain and grass.Changyi was only a temporary capital, and Dingtao was related to the safety of the Hebei battlefield, so Yuan Shu believed that Xun Yu would sit in Dingtao during the most intense battle in Hebei, and he guessed right.

"Okay, Xun Wenruo has finally hit the trick." Yuan Shu jumped up excitedly, "Urgently tell Ji Ling to let him lead the army to attack Dingtao and cut off the food and grass of the Northern Expedition Army. Now it's up to Li Hong. If he can take Cao Cao , Liu Biao, Liu Bei, and Tian Kai ate them all in one go, and the Central Plains are mine.”

"My lord, it's probably difficult." Li Ye said with a frown, "Although we have surrounded Dingtao, we can't completely cut off the food and grass of the Northern Expedition Army. The three places that provide food and grass for the Northern Expedition Army are Yuan Shao's Kanto And Yuzhou, the second is Liu Biao’s Jingzhou and our Yangzhou, and the third is Xuzhou and Qingzhou. Even if we surround Dingtao now, the food from Xuzhou and Qingzhou will continue to be sent to the Jizhou battlefield, so..."

"So there is still enough time for Cao Aman to retreat to the Yellow River, right?" Yuan Shu asked with a smile, "Are you worried that he will retaliate against me after he returns? Join forces with Liu Bei to beat me?"

"Does your lord believe that Li Hong will wipe out the Northern Expedition Army in Hebei and let you occupy the Central Plains?" Li Ye asked, "Why did Li Hong detain your lord's son, Xun Zheng and Liu Ye in Jizhou? He doesn't believe it at all. Your words, do you know?"

"Of course I know." Yuan Shu patted Li Ye's shoulder with a smile, "If Yuan Shao and I occupy all the states and counties from Guanzhong to the Central Plains, and confront Li Hong across the river, there is no chance for him to calm down. Opportunity in the world? So Li Hong will definitely let Cao Aman go, so that he can come back and fight me, so that he can benefit from it. And Yuan Shao thinks so too, he also wants me and Cao Aman to be both hurt, so that we can realize His usurping dream."

"As long as the Central Plains is full of flames of war, Li Hong and Yuan Shao will have a chance." Yuan Shu waved his hands vigorously and said with disdain, "But the question is, will I give them this chance?"

Li Ye sighed worriedly, "Your Excellency thinks we have enough strength and time?"

"What? You have no confidence?" Yuan Shu laughed loudly, "Qiao Rui, Zhang Xun and Sun Ce have already dispatched, and now it is our turn. Order Chang Nu and He Yi to assemble the army, and we will attack Changyi."

Li Ye wanted to persuade him a few more words, but Yuan Shu had already walked out excitedly. While walking, he smiled and said, "Li Hong keeps his promise, and if he retreats, he will be six hundred miles away. How can we let him down?"

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Yangzhou Wujun, Dantu.

On the ferry, hundreds of warships lined up, and nearly [-] heavily armed soldiers were boarding the ships.

Surrounded by dozens of personal guards and cavalry, Sun Ce galloped towards them on horseback.

In June, Wang Lang, the prefect of Kuaiji County, surrendered to Sun Ce under the persuasion of Chang Shi Yufan.Yan Baihu resisted stubbornly and led his army to flee to Jiaozhou. As a result, the whole army in Zhongfu was wiped out.In July, Sun Ben, Zhu Zhi, Zhou Yu and others defeated Liu Yao and Tai Shici, and occupied Wanling, the county seat of Danyang County.So far, Sun Ce has occupied the three counties of Wujun, Kuaiji and Danyang.At this time, Yuan Shu's secret order was sent to Jiangdong, and Sun Ce then secretly assembled troops in the Dantu and Qu'a areas, preparing to attack Guangling County in Xuzhou on the other side of the Yangtze River.He was very eager to fight.If he can occupy Xuzhou and go north to the Central Plains, he will be able to conquer the Quartet and become famous all over the world like his father.

Now, he finally waited for this moment.Yuan Shu ordered him to attack Guangling County immediately, and then quickly went north to join him in Yanzhou.

Cheng Pu and Han Dang rushed to meet him.

"Has the Dongling Pavilion been captured?" Sun Ce asked loudly, sitting on his horse, pointing at the opposite bank with his whip in his hand.

"It has already been taken." Cheng Pu bowed and said, "In the early morning of this morning, Mr. Huang Gai led eight hundred elites to cross the river quietly, and they all went down with one drum."

"Great." Sun Ce roared excitedly, "Get on board, let's go and take down Guangling."

=

In mid-August, Qiao Rui led his army across the Huaihe River, marched 150 miles in a hurry, and captured Xiaqiu City in Xiapi County, Xuzhou with lightning speed.After resting for a day, the army went straight to Xiapi City, the county seat of Xiapi County.

In mid-August, Zhang Xun, who was stationed in Xiaoxian County, Peiguo, suddenly marched sixty li eastward, and directly killed Pengcheng, the county governor of Pengcheng Kingdom in Xuzhou.

Xuzhou was attacked on three sides, and the situation was very critical.Chen Deng, the prefect of Guangling County, Sun Qian, the prefect of Xiapi County, and Mi Zhu, the prime minister of Pengcheng, rushed to the scene.Shi Jianyong, governor of Xuzhou, reported to Liu Bei with a fast ride of [-] miles, asking Liu Bei to return to the army quickly for support.

Just when Zhang Xun started to attack Pengcheng, Ji Ling's army also reached Dingtao.Whether or not Dingtao can be captured is directly related to whether Yuan Shu can successfully occupy the Central Plains, so Ji Ling mustered all his energy and led the army to attack, but to his surprise, the defenders in the city were very tenacious. , Using the large amount of ordnance accumulated in the city, occupy the city to the death.

When Ji Ling was struggling under Dingtao City, Yuan Shu strode into Changyi.He is the great general of the hussars of the dynasty, and even the Taifu Liu Chong wants to go out to meet him personally, who will stop him?
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In mid-August, Guanzhong, Chencang.

Ma Chao went to the city to meet Han Sui.

Northern Xinjiang Titan Pound is too powerful.He took his iron cavalry, connected Keqi County, Yunyang, and killed along the Jingshui River to Chiyang.At present, he led his iron cavalry between Anling, Yangling and Gaoling on both sides of the Jingshui River, broke through Yuan Tan's resistance five times, and went to the city of Chang'an.Although Yuan Tan had 2 horses, he only had [-] iron cavalry. He didn't dare to pay such a small amount of money to Pound, so he asked Ma Chao for help several times.

"Yuan Tan already knew that Mr. only brought [-] cavalry into Guanzhong, and he thought that I could rely on the strength of Chencang City to stop Mr. here." Ma Chao said helplessly, "Yuan Tan ordered me to rush to Chang'an immediately to support."

"Do you want to go?" Han Sui asked.

Ma Chao hesitated for a long time, "I want to ask sir."

Han Sui shook his hand, "Don't go, if you leave, I have no reason to stay in Chencang. Although Yuan Tan urged you to help, why didn't Pound urge me to go east again and again?"

Ma Chao looked at Han Sui suspiciously, "But Mr. only has three thousand cavalry..."

"If you leave Chen Cang today, I can gather [-] cavalry to take Chen Cang tomorrow." Han Sui smiled slightly, "Do you believe it?"

Ma Chao was terrified and dared not speak for a long time.

"Do you know how many troops Pound brought?"

Ma Chao shook his head.

"Five thousand cavalry." Han Sui smiled, "You can tell Yuan Tan what I said. If he has the ability, he can beat Pound to annihilation."

Ma Chao frowned, hesitated to speak.

"Is there any news about your father recently?" Han Sui knew that Ma Chao had given up the idea of ​​supporting Chang'an, so he asked casually.

"Since the Northern Expeditionary Army crossed Hebei, my father hasn't written a letter." Ma Chao said worriedly, "However, Yuan Tan told me in the letter that his father attacked Yecheng last month, and Prime Minister Cao and I Father led the army to Ganling City. Last month, Prime Minister Cao and my father led the army to Xindu City. Yuan Tan thinks that in autumn, the Northern Expeditionary Army will be able to occupy Jizhou and end this crusade.”

Han Sui's face suddenly changed, "The northern army has withdrawn to Xindu City?"

Ma Chao nodded, "Yuan Tan won't lie to me."

Han Sui touched his forehead, thought for a while, and suddenly patted Ma Chao's arm with a wry smile, "Meng Qi, do you trust me?"

"Of course I believe sir." Ma Chao said without hesitation.

"Then you stay in Chencang and don't go anywhere." Han Sui said solemnly, "until your father comes back."

"why?"

"Because the leopard is going to eat people." Han Sui sighed and answered the question irrelevantly.

=

At the end of August, Bohai County, Dahe Gudu.

This large river played an important role in flood diversion when the Yellow River burst its embankment the year before last.Most of the floods flowed along this big river, Gudu, into the Jiangshui River, and then into the Zhangshui River into the sea.In order to prevent problems before they happen, Hebei organized a large number of manpower to carry out excavation and dredging last year. However, due to the severe drought in the Central Plains this year, the water level of the Yellow River has dropped sharply, and the Dahe Gudu has long since dried up.

The Qingzhou Army successfully crossed the Dahe Gudu and entered the endless plain.

Tian Kai stopped his horse, looked back and let out a long breath.There are still 150 miles to reach Nanpi.Along the way, the army was cautious and closely guarded from front to back, lest they would be raided by the Northern Xinjiang Army. In the end, it was a false alarm, and not even a single Northern Border Army was there.It seems that Prime Minister Cao's attack under Xindu City has had an effect, and all the northern troops have been attracted.

The scout flew to report.General Ma Teng has arrived at the foot of Dongguang City and surrounded Dongguang City, but because the army led by General Ma Teng is iron cavalry and has no siege tools, they cannot forcibly attack the city, so Mr. Tian is asked to join them quickly.

"How many defenders are there in the city?" Tian Kai remembered that the Beijiang army had abandoned Dongguang City, and the scouts had repeatedly reported that Dongguang City was an empty city. Why did there appear defenders in the city now?Dongguang City is 120 miles away from Nanpi City. If Nanpi City gets the news and prepares in advance, it will be a bit troublesome to attack Nanpi City.Could it be that the Northern Xinjiang Army discovered itself?
"We don't know how many people there are in the city." The scout said, "But we saw Wu Xiong's battle flag hanging on the tower."

"Wu Xiong?" Tian Kai was taken aback.Wu Xiong has been stationed in Nanpi City, why did he suddenly appear in Dongguang?
"Did the Northern Border Army discover us?" Tian Kai turned his head and asked Guan Jing.

"It must be." Guan Jing said, "Last night, the scouts reported that Dongguang City was empty, but just after one night, Wu Xiong arrived at Dongguang City. It can be seen that the Northern Xinjiang Army found us at the latest the night before yesterday. of."

"When he arrives in Dongguang, Xinducheng's reinforcements will soon arrive at Nanpi." Tian Kai said anxiously, "Xinducheng is about three hundred miles away from Nanpi. You can reach Nanpi tomorrow night or the morning after tomorrow."

"Time, now we have to race against time." Guan Jing said eagerly, "This place is 150 miles away from Nanpi, whoever arrives at Nanpi first will win."

Without hesitation, Tian Kai immediately ordered Xiahou Dun and Li Dian of the Yanzhou Army, Zang Ba and Sun Guan of the Xuzhou Army, Wen Pin, Huang Zhong, and Wei Yan of the Jingzhou Army to speed up their march and must take Dongguang City tonight.

=

On the dry river bed of Dahe Gudu, a large army is running at full speed.

Zhang Zhen, Qin Yi, and Gao Shun stood side by side on the embankment, looking at the sweating and panting soldiers with only anxiety in their eyes, without any compassion.

The scouts came galloping on horseback.

"My lords, the Qingzhou Army has already crossed the Dahe Gudu and is heading towards Dongguang City at a high speed."

"How far is the Yanzhou Army from Dahe Gudu?" Zhang Zhen asked urgently.

"About five miles."

The three looked at each other, anxious.

"We are still ten miles away from the blocking point." Gao Shun pointed to the front and said helplessly, "By the time we get there, the Yanzhou Army has already crossed the Dahe Gudu."

"If you let the Yanzhou Army go, General Tiger Head will kill the three of us." Qin Yi smiled wryly.

Zhang Zhen cursed angrily, pulled off his helmet, and slammed it on the ground, "Send the order, the soldiers of the Huben Battalion discard their heavy weapons and advance rapidly."

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(End of this chapter)